1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to welding and particularly to welding hardfacing material, corrosion resistant alloys and other weld claddings to a plate.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are a number of prior art welding apparatuses and methods for applying corrosion resistant alloys, claddings and "hardfacings" to plates. "Hardfacing" is the method of providing an abrasion resistant object that has a desired pattern of random cracks extending through it. Several methods of hardfacing incorporate various welding techniques for welding the hardfacing materials to objects. The conventional methods and apparatuses for producing welded hardfaced objects or plates include both flat-plate methods such as described in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,494,749; 3,079,888 and 3,060,307, and cylindrical plate methods such as described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,362. In the flat-plate method a plate is held and strapped down to prevent its distortion while a welding apparatus deposits hardfacing material on the plate. In the cylindrical-plate method the plate is secured to a cylindrical supporting surface which is mounted on a drum or spindle which is placed on rollers and then rotated beneath a weld nozzle.
In the cylindrical plate method the necessity of mounting the cylindrical support on a drum or spindle is inefficient and uneconomical. Elimination of the need for the drum or spindle and of the support rollers would significantly simplify the cylindrical-plate method of hardfacing. Also, use of a drum or spindle results in distortion of the plate about the drum or spindle either because of distortion of the drum itself during the operation or the unequal shrinking of the plate about the legs of the spindle.